What Are You Currently Playing? 6.65: Neighbor of the Beast

[Nel_Annette]

I honestly think they should have made it another movie type thing like they did with Days and Coded. It sucks that CoM is integral to 2's plot because good god, the Disney worlds in CoM are just hollow, diet versions of their KH1 incarnations, which is the main reason it's such a chore. Combine that with the terrible card gimmick (my opinion; some people like it and I can respect that) and a freaking second campaign and it is just the worst to me.

Speaking of which, I'm really glad they relegated Coded down to a movie form. Story-wise, it's the most unnecessary game in the franchise (maybe the mobile one beats it). I can't connect with a Sora and Riku who are just digital copies of the real ones, the gimmicks are misery, and you go through all that story just to find out the mystery you were chasing after was something that you, as a player playing the games in release order, already freaking know. I felt like hours of my time had been utterly wasted on that dreck. Since the real Mickey goes into those digital worlds, he should have been the playable character. That would have at least been something.

While Days is also a bit of a slog, I did think the boss battles were cool and being able to play as every organization member was great. Kind of bummed we lost those things in the collections.

[Dreamer2]

Thanks once again for all the great advice Ensatsu. Now, I'm sorry I didn't really respond, just been busy and haven't been playing as much. I'm gonna play tomorrow, so I'll probably come back with lots of questions and lots of tears.

One thing to note, the sub mission, Invitation from the Warrior of the West was annoyingly difficult. Even by using the rock, it was still super hard. I could barely dodge his attacks without the rock, but using the rock just made it take so long. I finally beat him, but the frustration was building up so much. But, it did feel really good when I beat him.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

For what it's worth, I died a lot to that boss as well, until I learned how effective the parry mechanics were in this game, then I trounced him....unfortunately Team Ninja realized how broken the parry was and ended up severely nerfing it in subsequent patches and updates.

The parry for the Dual Swords is still useful though since it scores you an instant knockdown against human opponents, allowing you time to follow it up with a Sign of the Cross and then a finishing blow. It does really good damage but you'll need the advanced parry fir the Dual Swords as the initial one you unlock takes too long to perform and leaves you far too vulnerable. You'll also need Sign of the Cross level 2 which allows you to charge up the attack much faster as enemies don't stay down as long as they used to after the system updates. However, if you are playing offline and on an un-updated version of the game, then none of this should affect you and using a Katana and its level 2 Sign of the Cross (which takes longer to charge but is ridiculously powerful) should let you curb-stomp most human bosses in the game (as well as Revnants).

That said, I found a new easy strategy to take human bosses down with, but to do it you need to complete a mission to allow you to buy higher level magic spells, and you'll also need to unlock the Daiba-Washi Guardian Spirit if you didn't already choose it as your starter at the beginning of the game.

Also, if you thought that boss fight was hard, you'd be shocked at some of the post game challenges. One of them has you fight both that boss and another one you encounter later in the game at the same time. Now that nearly drive me insane.

[Mustang]

I was watching this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RVvm7OD2t8 and despite hating stamina, with a little bit of help from the fgc (its toxicity and childish-ness and I'm just tired of it all) it has sealed the deal on me getting into DS3 (might actually buy both 2&3).

While it's nothing like Sephiroth other than the sword, it does give me ideas that I'd want to go for, and I'm curious about Nioh's customization in this regard. Is it as deep as DS3?

[Foggle]

I'm not sure I would recommend starting with DS3. Having played all 5 Souls games (including Bloodborne), it was easily my least favorite, and IMO it was also the hardest. I got frustrated by the normal enemy encounters a lot and - despite beating the other 4 multiple times - eventually gave up on it because I was bored to tears by the level design. The Scholar version of Dark Souls 2 is equally obnoxious. Due to people thinking the original release was "too easy," they decided to add like three extra enemies to every encounter and make them run up from behind you constantly, have you fight the same recurring boss a billion fucking times, and just generally destroy the balancing in favor of making it "hard." If you have a PS3 (or Xbox 360, or PC), I would highly recommend starting with either Demon's Souls or the original Dark Souls, as both are far better designed, less frustrating, and more intelligent about explaining the mechanics for new players.

[Mustang]

Really? Kinda shocked to see that since I've seen so much praise for DS3. So let me ask you then. Just from a customization standpoint, how deep are Demon Souls and Dark Souls 1? How creative can one get?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I've only played DS1 and about half of Bloodborne (which I'm still playing, but I've been far too swamped with work and had to force mysekf to take a break from gaming over the past few weeks). Nioh's customization is actually pretty extensive compared to that. In general you get a lot more weapon and armor drops in Nioh, and you can customize the passive buffs that any piece of your gear has.

Granted, this all uses a Blacksmith system that was honestly rather complicated and kind of convoluted for me to learn at first, but once I got the hang of it I was able to acquire gear that best suited my playstyle.

[Foggle]

Really? Kinda shocked to see that since I've seen so much praise for DS3.

Well, it's only my opinion of course. A lot of people seem to play these games specifically for the challenging fights or multiplayer while I'm more into exploring the well-designed levels and soaking in their creative horror elements. The first two games and Bloodborne lean more heavily toward what I love about the series while DS2 (especially Scholar) and 3 went with more of a quantity-over-quality approach to levels and enemy encounters IMO. Just couldn't get invested in Scholar or DS3 like I did with DeS, DS1 & 2, and BB.

Anyway, in terms of cosmetic variety (like clothing options and variations on weapon types), I'd say DS3 probably has the most, although it might actually be DS2 since that game is unnaturally large. However, in terms of actual build variety, I'd say DeS and DS1 offer way more customization. In DS2 you are basically forced to pump a ton of points into ADP if you want to be able to dodge attacks, which precludes a lack of options early-game, and in DS3 heavy weapons & magic attacks are all but useless (the former because the poise mechanic is broken, the latter because it's just too weak to be worthwhile until New Game+). DeS is very robust in terms of letting you play how you want, and DS1 is similar though slightly more restricted (that said, magic is broken as hell in both games and can easily be used for cheesing). Bloodborne has the least amount of build variety and cosmetic options of any Souls title, but every single weapon is unique and interesting - with the Old Hunters DLC adding a lot of great ones - and the clothing choices that do exist are significantly cooler than anything in the other games (provided you like the Gothic Victorian horror style).

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

For the record I actually prefer Bloodborne's approach to armor and weapon sets. I like variety, but don't want to spend so much time on deciding specs and customization. I actually feel that Nioh would benefit more from simpler customization options like Bloodborne since its primary draw is in combat, and constantly sifting through menus distracts from that.

I follow TS17 on YouTube, who's one of the most skilled gamers that I know about for character action games. He is a Dark Souls fan but I know that he has major issues with SOTFS and DS3 for many of the reasons that Foggle mentioned, and additionally he has ranted before about how he hates the obnoxious side of the Souls fanbase who want their games to be challenging regardless of good design. I remember in his playthrough of Nioh's most recent DLC, he said that he liked how it did shortcuts more than the later Souls games which he found to be obnoxious and overly long run-backs just for the sake of catering to fans who want to brag about how tough their game is.

I also love challenging games, but the challenge in and of itself has to be fun. It has to make me want to get better at the game. Difficulty just for the sake of difficulty leads to stuff like the worst parts of Ninja Gaiden 2 (mostly Chapter 9, which I loathe) or Legendary difficulty in Halo 2 which is a nightmare.

[Mustang]

Started my run of Nioh (finally). There's definitely a Ninja Gaiden vibe here. Anyway, died 3 times already and I'm probably 30-45 minutes in. It's mainly me trying to get used to a stamina bar. Right now I'm fighting the habit of going in balls to walls and hacking away at everything.

As stated, Ninja Gaiden vibes, but also the fighting game vibe is definitely here as well. Taking turns and dealing with spacing. I haven't ran into any rock, paper, scissor moment though, but the taking turns, for sure is a fighting game familiarity.

There's a lot of potential here. I just gotta get used to this stamina bar.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Have you beaten the prologue stage in London yet? If not, then when you reach Japan you'll be given some options for your initial build. Specifically when it comes to Guardian Spirits, I recommend picking Kato as your starter and then leveling up your Spirit stat to 6, as it will grant you a +5 Ki passive buff, which is great for this point in the game.

Also, Ki-Pulsing. Get used to it and it'll make stamina a lot easier to manage. In fact, the ability to Ki-Pulse while dodging in each stance should be among the first upgrades that you get, so instead of taking up more Ki, properly timing your dodges can help you recover it faster.

Also, being the fighting game aficionado that you are, the Dual Swords would probably be most up your alley for their timing-based combos and having the best parry mechanic in the entire game after the patches made the Katana's parry borderline useless  (to be fair, it was arguably broken before that). That said, you can only parry human enemies, but there are a lot of human bosses in this game and going from a parry directly into Sign of the Cross level 2 followed by a Finishing Blow does an absurd amount of damage and can make seemingly tough boss fights an absolute cake-walk.

Here's a really good example of how good the combat can be when everything clicks just right: https://youtu.be/rgALXbuCd_4

[Mustang]

I have not gotten past the London stage yet. I just wanted to try it out (I try not to play any games on Sunday. Trying to stream monster it up and I need everything free if possible).

You already know dual swords is love, dual swords is life. I loved them in NG2 and from the video you provided, I'm loving every minute of what I saw. Is he stance cancelling (reminds me of Dante's weapon switch in DMC4) or is that the Ki Pulsing? Combination of both? It also look a bit like FADCs. Holy cow the depth of this combat. I gotta talk about those costumes real quick. THAT'S WHAT I WANT. I saw a costume, he called it Samurai Jerk. So sick.

1st impression after watching that video. Nioh has the potential to be my #1 favorite of all time. I love samurai's. I love Japanese history. I love seeing different portrayals of Japanese lore and it breaks my heart that we have so little of games representing the samurai side of things. It's all medieval, and I'm like can we break away from this cycle for once.

Dammit Ubisoft. You have everything you need at your fingertips. Historical figures, assassination weapons, etc. TAKE ME TO JAPAN.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I have not gotten past the London stage yet. I just wanted to try it out (I try not to play any games on Sunday. Trying to stream monster it up and I need everything free if possible).

I got ya. I'm kind of the same way when it comes to gaming, though in my case I just don't game at all when I have too much work and life related stuff going on, which is what's happening right now, which is why I haven't been able to play more than a few hours in total over the past two months.

You already know dual swords is love, dual swords is life. I loved them in NG2 and from the video you provided, I'm loving every minute of what I saw. Is he stance cancelling (reminds me of Dante's weapon switch in DMC4) or is that the Ki Pulsing? Combination of both? It also look a bit like FADCs. Holy cow the depth of this combat. I gotta talk about those costumes real quick. THAT'S WHAT I WANT. I saw a costume, he called it Samurai Jerk. So sick.

Yeah, Dual Swords in NG2 and in this game are among my favorite weapons from each. As for what he's doing in the video, first of all, I need to give you a fair disclaimer that he has a decent amount of upgrades that you'll need to unlock before you can do some of the stuff that he does, but on top of that XHL Gladiator is a fucking beast at these types of games. I've played the game for well over a hundred hours myself and still can't play nearly as well as he does. However, what his videos showcase to you is the potential of the combat system, and as you can clearly see yourself, it's hardly lacking in depth and variety, which is why I love the game so much.

For the record, he is switching stances and using dodges to Ki-pulse. You'll learn about the Ki-pulse system from the brief dojo tutorial after you clear the London stage (you can't change stances in the prologue, unfortunately), however it'll only tell you the basics of how to use it, in that it basically functions like the active reload system from Gears of War. However you'll quickly discover that there is more nuance to it than that. There are early ability upgrades which you can get that let you Ki-pulse by dodging at the right time (which is what he does a lot of in that video), and also by changing your stance at the same time that you Ki-pulse (which ends up recovering your Ki even faster). He uses both of those a lot. While there technically is no stance cancelling, there is such a thing as canceling out of stance change animations. Essentially you can complete a combo in mid-stance and then immediately switch to high stance to follow it up with a devastating blow to an enemy drained of stamina or leaving themselves vulnerable to further attacks. Normally when you change stances from an idle state their is a brief animation of William changing the positioning of his weapon, however that animation can be skipped if you change in the middle of a recovery animation or if you choose to attack before the animation is even fully complete, which once again you see a lot of in this video. Additionally, you can dodge cancel out of certain combos, but being from the same team that made the Ninja Gaiden games, you do have to commit to individual attacks and typically can't cancel out of most of those in the middle of the active-frames animation for when you're attacking an enemy. It's something that's easy enough to get used to, though. Spacing tends to be far more important in a game such as this, anyways.

As for the costumes, one of the best aspects of the Blacksmith system is that you can have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. What I mean is say that you get a piece of armor that looks cool but doesn't have stats that you like or is too heavy and you're going for a light armor build, but the armor that does have the stats that you like doesn't fit the look that you want. In this case you can use the Refashion option to make any piece of gear look like another piece of gear of the same type, so you can have your cool looking character while also having the exact build that you're going for. It's probably one of my personal favorite aspects of this game's whole loot system.

1st impression after watching that video. Nioh has the potential to be my #1 favorite of all time. I love samurai's. I love Japanese history. I love seeing different portrayals of Japanese lore and it breaks my heart that we have so little of games representing the samurai side of things. It's all medieval, and I'm like can we break away from this cycle only once.

Glad to see that it's up your alley as well. It's my favorite game in years and really leaves me hopeful that the next Ninja Gaiden game will be a return to form for the franchise after the dumpster-fire that was the third game.

Dammit Ubisoft. You have everything you need at your fingertips. Historical figures, assassination weapons, etc. TAKE ME TO JAPAN.

Honestly pretty surprised that Assassin's Creed Japan wasn't done ages ago. It seems like a no-brainer.

[Nel_Annette]

Honestly pretty surprised that Assassin's Creed Japan wasn't done ages ago. It seems like a no-brainer.

I recall reading an article around the time Unity was coming out that they had actually planned to, but weren't able to do the amount of research/map accuracy they wanted to because the Japanese sources they were using disapproved of what they were using it for, and found it disrespectful (I assume through which historical figures they were deeming Assassins and Templars). So they dropped it. I know there had to be way more to it than just that though. They definitely WANT to do an AC in Japan, I know that.

[Mustang]

Continuing Nioh, I made it past the London tutorial, and while I do like the dual swords I gotta say that I am favoring just the single katana at the moment. Probably because I feel safer with it. I'm still trying to get used to Ki Pulsing, but I feel a little more comfortable Ki Pulsing with just 1 katana. I am also favoring the low stance quite a bit as well.

Speaking of stances, I'm seeing just how XLHGladiator is doing all the stance switching with Ki Pulsing. While it's not too deep it does require a bit of practice, and I gotta get my mind into thinking it's very much like FADCing. He got skills. Memorizing that Triangle, Square and X = high, mid, low while in the midst of battle and under pressure, yeah, he's a beast.

All the menu's can be pretty overwhelming as well, but I'm slowly understanding it.

This is really pushing me lol. I haven't been challenged this much in a long time; since the Ninja Gaiden days. Having a renewed interest in that game as well.